Tuesday 9 July 2013

Hair update!



I have had my kinky twists in for 4 weeks now just getting started on week 5. I had the perimeter redone yesterday so now they look brand new. I have shampoo washed them twice at two week intervals. First wash was with liquified African black soap second wash Organic Root Stimulator Creamy Aloe Shampoo since I had been swimming and needed to get rid of the chlorine in my hair. I did not manage to do any hot oil treatments for both washes unfortunately but I hope to do at least one before I take them out. I have made three braid spray mixes so far the first two mixes consisted of my leave in conditioner (a different type each time), avocado oil, olive oil, tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, glycerin and distilled water the third mix was Aloe Vera Juice, my kiddies carrot crème moisturizer, tea tree oil, coconut oil, castor oil, olive oil, avocado oil and distilled water.

My shed hairs were peeking out of a few twists at the front of my head. I have noticed this before whenever I had braids but always assumed it was product build up and wiped it off with a wet cloth. This time however being on a hair journey and all once I saw little white bits I decided to take a closer look and tried pulling one out and lo and behold this long strand came out with a white bulb at the root that’s when I knew it was shed hair.
Still got the dented spray bottle!.Note to self never add boiling water into a spray bottle!

This is my very first time installing kinky hair and here are my highs and lows so far;
Highs
  • This hair holds styles much better than regular braiding hair I think it is because of its coarse texture
  • The older it gets the better it looks
  • I like the fact that they sort of resemble twisted locs I am considering having them wrapped around like how you do threading instead of twists next time to achieve a loc’d look
  • According to the lady who braided me they can be reused at least twice if you do not cut them on take down and I plan to do this. I will use them to rebraid with a different style for maybe 4 - 5 weeks once I take the twists out. Actually most braiding hair can be reused it’s just that they are usually quite affordable so most of us do not think of reusing unlike “human hair” which costs an arm, a leg, and probably an eye as well:)
Lows
  • They are very heavy when wet and mine are even heavier since I used 3 packs of Afro Kinky bulk, I have a big head  love the full look lol
  • I used my cousin’s braider this time and she followed my instructions; do not braid too tight, leave out my edges and then I just had to go and tie them in a tight updo let’s just say I lost a twist while I was trying to achieve the updo as in it broke off from the root! Thank God it was at my nape so not very visible. They had started loosening up due to new growth and I think this twist was at its weakest point and snapped from the root. I take full responsibility for that one lesson well learnt.

All said and done I must say that I am satisfied with this hair and will be using it more frequently in the future. I hope to carry this protective style until the end of July/early August which will make it 8 weeks. If you plan on wearing your braids or twists for longer than four weeks I highly recommend getting the perimeter redone halfway through, your hairline and nape will thank you for that.

Meanwhile it’s been rather quiet round these parts nowadays is everyone on hair blogsville on a blogacation, where are you people?

12 comments:

  1. Great to hear that your hair is doing well with the twists. Its always a great feeling when a protective style is working :-)

    which of the braid spray mixes do you like the most? The one with the aloe in it?
    Because of you I can't wait to end my no buy challenge in September just to buy some aloe vera juice :-)

    I took down my braids after four weeks last friday and I'm really thankful that my hair stayed moisturize because of my water-glycerine spray so I guess with Aloe Vera my hair will be uber moisturize.

    I have never thought of using braid extentions twice, I will keep this in mind for my next installation

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    1. I actually like them all but the one with the Carrot creme turned out quite thick so I had to keep diluting it with water before spraying. AVJ really makes my new growth soft it is simply the best new growth softener for my hair. It is very important to make sure your hair is still moisturized when in braids. Don't worry you don't have long to go September is round the corner:)

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  2. You should take a photo. I'm interested in seeing what they look like.

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    1. There is a photo of when they were freshly done in this post > http://crowningglorymine.blogspot.com/2013/06/hair-update.html

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  3. I have been itching to get some braids in. I love the sound of your braid sprays. Did you have to incorporate some type of protein to prevent moisture overload?

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    1. Wow thanks Adrienne I never thought about the protein moisture balance in braids sprays. I will have to check if my leave in's have some protein in them I hope they do. I only spray 3-4 times a week at the moment so I hope that can keep the balance in check for now.

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  4. Ha-ha Lydz! @ "nowadays is everyone on hair blogsville on a blogacation, where are you people?"

    I literally laughed out loud!

    www.savingourstrands.blogspot.com

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    1. Lol! But its true it's like a ghost town these days round these parts hahaha

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  5. Glad to hear that your hair is doing great :) Which brand of AVJ do you use?

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    1. Hey Candice I make my own homemade one but I believe any pure store bought brands are good too. See this post for how I make mine > http://crowningglorymine.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-is-for-aloes.html

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  6. And an eye?! LOL. Great hair update. I really want some braids, but I also have a large head and need lots of hair. I don't know if my neck is up to the challenge this year haha

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    1. Lol yes maybe even both eyes hahaha! Tell me about the large head every time a stylist tells me I will need 2 packs of hair for a particular style I always buy 3 because I know my head lol.

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Thank you for reading...feel free to add a comment, suggestion or question. I am always happy to hear from you! Lydz.